Research Topics 2011
Successful Development of Highly Sensitive General-Purpose Sensor
-For Medical, Biological, Security, and Environmental Applications-Feb 8, 2011
- This research was conducted by
- Genki Yoshikawa, Terunobu Akiyama (EPFL), Sebastian Gautsch (EPFL), Peter Vettiger (EPFL) and Heinrich Rohrer (1986 Nobel Laureate in Physics)
A highly sensitive novel sensor, Membrane-type Surface stress Sensor (MSS), has successfully developed. This sensor can be miniaturized and integrated with a multidimensional array and is also suitable for batch fabrication. It is expected as a versatile sensor for medical, biological, security, and environmental applications.
Figure 1(left): Schematic image of the measurement of various analytes ranging from gaseous to biological molecules using an array of micro-cantilevers. The deflection induced by an adsorption of analyte molecules is being detected.
Figure 2 (right): Newly developed Membrane-type Surface stress Sensor (MSS). The surface stress induced by an adsorption of analytes on the center membrane is efficiently detected by the piezoresistors embedded at the four peripheral beams.